The use and future of transgenic animals in pharmacological research / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Transgenic animals are those in which recombinant DNA technology is used to remove a gene or a specific part of DNA with exogenous DNA, which is hereditable and can be expressed stably. Transgenic rodent technology, first demonstrated by Gordon in 1980,opened the door to the next step in biotechnology and gene regulation, which has been used to reproduce or mimic a part of a human disease in a complex cellular environment by creating in vivo models with germ line transmission of the introduced genetic regulatory elements. Animal models for drug discovery are developing increasingly, which is promoting the research and development new drugs greatly. The use and development of transgenic animals in pharmacological research is reviewed in this article.